ABOUT US
The English Department's faculty includes three Regents Professors and three Distinguished University Professors.
Folklorist John Burrison has been teaching at Georgia State for 57 years.
Our Mission
In addition to the traditional concentrations, we teach classes in digital humanities, folklore, literary theory, cultural studies, professional and technical writing (including electronic editing and publishing) and a variety of eclectic fields and topics such as ethnic literature, graphic novels, African literature, editing and the ever-popular practical grammar.
Faculty research and creative writing have been recognized by major awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Commission and the Guggenheim Foundation. We publish in the top journals and presses in the field. Take a look at the brimming bookcase outside our front office for a sampling of what we’ve been up to lately.
Chair Welcome
This academic year brought students and faculty back to campus, even as we’ve continued to negotiate the many challenges brought by new stages of the pandemic. In the fall, I began my first term as Department Chair, joined by Elizabeth Lopez (Associate Chair), Tanya Caldwell (Director of Graduate Studies), Josh Russell (Director of Creative Writing), Mark Noble (Director of Undergraduate Studies) and Michael Harker (Director of Lower-Division Studies and the Writing Studio). We welcomed three new Lecturers to our faculty: Shannon Finck, Nick Sturm and Anna Barattin.
In the spring, several members of our faculty received impressive recognition. Beth Gylys was named a Distinguished University Professor. Elizabeth West was appointed as the John B. and Elena Diaz-Verson Amos Distinguished Chair in English Letters and Gina Caison was appointed to the Kenneth England Professorship in Southern American Literature. The Field School and Study Abroad courses offered in the spring and May semesters provided students with opportunities to study publishing in NYC, Shakespeare in Italy and South African literature with writers and faculty at the University of the Southern Cape.
We look forward to sustaining these successful programs while expanding our course offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels to include global and indigenous literature, archival research, teaching in English studies and African American folklore and foodways. As the restrictions imposed by the pandemic ease, we anticipate establishing a speaker series for the next academic year.
Join us!
Audrey Goodman
Professor and Chair
Department of English
Student Life
Our undergraduate and graduate students have opportunities to participate in international exchange and study abroad programs in England, France, Italy, Germany, China and elsewhere, faculty research, and service learning and internships. Many students gain editorial experience through one of the many publications housed in our department: the award-winning literary journal Five Points, The South Atlantic Review, Studies in the Literary Imagination and The Eudora Welty Review.
Our location in the heart of downtown Atlanta and our diverse student population allows us to take advantage of both the historical and cultural richness of the region and the resources of its fastest-growing and most international urban center.
Contact Us
English Department
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Department Specialist
Heather Russel